July 16th

The menu: Tempura Dill Pickles, Stuffed Summer Squash, Buttermilk Biscuits, Cherry Tomato Salad, Barbecued Spareribs. Ice-Cold Beer

The guests: Meghan Donley, Thanh Dang, John Marr, RJ Green

I forgot to make the tempura dill pickles. Epic fail. I also ruined the first batch of biscuits and Mike the Baker had to intervene and make some palatable bread. I seriously don't know why I can't master biscuits. Again, something for me to practice.

Regarding taste, I thought that the ribs were decent and that's saying a lot since I usually don't like meat with bones in it. It's just one of my weird peculiarities. The standout of the meal in my mind, however, was the stuffed summer squash. Enjoy the recipe, below.

Stuffed Summer Squash (From Southern Living, August 2002)
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cups cornbread, crumbled
1 cup Italian-seasoned croutons
4 to 5 saltine crackers, crumbled
1 cup chicken broth
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
8 to 10 yellow squash, halved and seeded

Preparation:
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.

Combine cornbread, croutons, and crackers in a large bowl; stir in onion mixture, broth, next 3 ingredients, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Microwave squash halves on HIGH 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.

Sprinkle squash halves with remaining 1 teaspoon salt; place in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup stuffing in each squash half.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until stuffing is lightly browned.